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He's Not An Expert, But He Plays One In The Newspaper
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I am occasionally asked to comment on media issues by mainstream media reporters, but more often I'll see someone consistently trotted out as an "expert" on talk radio who isn't, or who has undisclosed conflicts of interest, and I'll get annoyed. I learned from an L.A. Times reporter that it happens because reporters are lazy; instead of looking for actual experts, they just look at previous articles on the topic and call whoever the last reporter used as an "expert." Which may be how this guy Drew Cloud became a go-to expert for stories on student loans; reporters saw him quoted and figured he's an expert. But Drew Cloud doesn't exist. He's a creation of a student loan refinancing firm that took advantage of reporters' inability to confirm that experts are indeed experts to put their own spin on the news. And it's been going on for two years. For every one that gets caught, there are countless "experts" who are pretty much phony. (Washington Post)
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